This classic text outlines the development of the Papacy as an institution in the Middle Ages. With profound knowledge, insight and sophistication, Walter Ullmann traces the course of papal history from the late Roman Empire to its eventual decline in the Renaissance.

The focus of this survey is on the institution and the idea of papacy rather than individual figures, recognizing the shaping power of the popes' roles that made them outstanding personalities. The transpersonal idea, Ullmann argues, sprang from Christianity itself and led to the Papacy as an institution sui generis.

PREFACE TO THE REPRINT, PREFACE, INTRODUCTION, 1 The Papacy in the late Roman Empire, 2 The Papal Conflict with the Imperial Government, 3 The Papacy and the Conversion of England, 4 The Western Orientation of the Papacy, 5 The Papacy and Latin Europe, 6 The German Monarchy and the Papacy, 7 The Gregorian Age, 8 Tensions and Conflicts, 9 The Zenith of the Medieval Papacy, 10 Central Government and the Papal Curia, 11 Gradual Decline of Papal Authority, 12 Avignon, Rome and Constance, 13 The Last Phase of the Medieval Papacy, ABBREVIATIONS, BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES, APPENDIX, LIST OF MEDIEVAL POPES, INDEX